After everything Irene was eager to get back to work. To find a new story and move on with her life. Her trip to Smallville really brought more questions than it did answers, in fact she could hardly say that she got answers to any of her questions. She only left Smallville with the knowledge that she did the right thing in dropping the story, that Clark Kent deserved to find his place in this world on his own.

Once Irene stepped out of the elevator and all eyes were on her she knew that something big had happened while she was away.The tension throughout the office was clear, but as everyone quickly went back to work it was clear that whatever happened involved her.

Although everyone suddenly seemed incredibly invested in their writing it was Steve Lombard who approached Irene. Admittedly she would have thought that it would have been Cat who would have been eager to discuss the latest gossip, the fact that she wasn't was very concerning.

"You better watch out, Irene. Perry's gunnin' for you." Steve warned as he walked beside Irene who came to a stop to meet the older reporter's eyes. He seemed genuinely concerned, and Irene immediately knew what this was all about. She had been caught in a lie, one that the whole office knew about now, though she doubted that they knew the specifics. "He knows you didn't have a family emergency and he cannot wait to rip you into one."

"Damn it." Irene muttered as she walked around Lombard heading directly towards Perry's office. There was no point in trying to avoid an inevitable conversation, and it was best to go to him than have him rip her apart in front of all her coworkers.

Although she talked over to his office door with determination, the second that her fingers touched the doorknob Irene was hit with doubt and uncertainty. She knew Perry well enough to know that he was a man that did not take lies very well, and not only did she lie but she went against his direct orders. Now she was coming back empty handed and undoubtedly looking stubborn to her boss.

"I told you to drop this story, and what do you do? You lie to me to go after the story I told you to drop." Perry stated not looking up from his computer as Irene closed the door behind her, somehow knowing that it was her without even looking. But of course Perry White knew "I should fire you."

Stepping forward Irene knew there was no point in denying however he found out that she lied he knew, and if she continued to try to lie things would go even worse for her. There was no point in disappointing Perry more than he already was. "Well, if it makes any difference, I'm dropping the story."

Perry finally looked up to meet her eyes and surprisingly he didn't seem angry. Just disappointed, and that felt a lot worse than having to face his anger. He took a moment to process her words, but clearly didn't seem very convinced that she was telling the truth.  "Just like that?"

If course he had reason to doubt that she would drop this story so suddenly after having stubbornly pursued it for so long. Irene had a tendency to almost obsessively pursue stories, even if they were rarely published.

"Yeah." She replied not trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. Although she knew she had done the right thing she couldn't deny that this was the story that could have been the staple of her career. That would have given her the credibility that she was looking for. But she let Clark Kent and all his mysteries go, she knew she did the right thing, now it was time to look for another story that would give her what she wanted.

Perry stood, clearly not satisfied with her answer as he looked at Irene almost accusingly. "What happened to your leads?"

"They didn't pan out, the story is smoke." Irene replied dismissively, wanting to make it as clear as possible that there wasn't some big reason as to why the story fell apart. Reporters hit dead ends all the time, there was no reason why he shouldn't believe this was the case. Especially considering that he still thought of her as an inexperienced reporter.  "You were right I probably just hallucinated the whole thing."

"Or perhaps it just didn't get the attraction that you hoped it would." He countered, and although the accusation irritated Irene she knew it was best to remain quiet. There was no point in making the situation worse than it already was, Perry already was deeply disappointed and there was no way that he would let her find her own stories now. "Two weeks leave, no pay, that's your penance. You try something like this again, you're done here."

Irene nodded accepting her punishment, knowing that it was deserved. The idea of going without a paycheck for two weeks wasn't a fun one, but it was better than getting fired. "Fine."

Perry seemed slightly stunned by her response, but considering that she already got her punishment Irene turned away toward the door ready to head back home. Though she was more likely going to go visit her brother, who she hadn't talked to since she got back. He would undoubtedly want to know more about what happened as he still seemed to not be able to wrap his mind around the idea of beings from another planet.

"No, let's make it three weeks, since you're so willing to agree with me." Perry suddenly declared, causing Irene to freeze in shock as she looked at her editor-in-chief with wide eyes.

Now this troubled Irene as she couldn't imagine spending so much time away from work. She lived to work and do what she loved and suddenly being pulled away from that sent panic coursing through her veins. "Perry!"

"No, no. Don't." He said immediately before she even attempted to argue her case because now the punishment felt cruel. But all words "I believe you saw something, Irene, but not for a moment do I believe that your leads just went cold. So whatever your reasons are for dropping it, I think you're doing the right thing."

Suddenly it was Irene who felt suspicious or at least shocked that Perry did believe her story. That he even seemed to think that she did find what she was looking for, but there was so much to unpack in his expression that she couldn't be sure why he believed that she did the right thing in letting the story go. "Why?"

The editor-in-chief seemed genuinely concerned. But this was something that he had been thinking about for some time that much Irene was sure of. "Can you imagine how people on this planet would react, if...they knew there was someone like this out there?"

Of course she knew. They would reject him and fear him.

That was why Clark's father died, to keep his son's abilities a secret. It was why Irene was letting this story go. If people weren't willing to accept other humans based on the color of their skin or the people they chose to love, it was impossible to imagine them accepting someone from another planet.

It amazed her that she hadn't considered this before meeting Clark. It was something that seemed so clear and obvious when everyday news of cruel human behavior was a norm. But she was blinded by her ambition for a good story and had never considered how the world would react. How they would react to Clark, who the world would automatically fear and deny without knowing a thing about who he really is.

"Funny he said the same thing." Irene replied, satisfied to see the shock settle on his face before slipping out the door.

Once again all eyes were on her before for a moment possibly expecting her to run out of the office devastated. In many ways she was, Irene didn't want to spend three weeks away from the Daily Planet. The idea itself seemed like a nightmare of boredom, but she had to face the consequences or her actions.

Irene was about to head back towards the elevators before catching Lois Lane motioning her over. Of course she had planned to tell Lois what happened, leaving out the major details of the story, but still enough to satisfy Lois' own curiosity. But after her conversation with Perry all she wanted to do was go home and feel sorry for herself, even the thought of visiting her brother was exhausting.

Seeing as she didn't have much of a choice Irene walked across the busy office where everyone was pretending to be completely consumed by their work and not curious about the conversation that just happened between Irene and Perry White.

"So?" She questioned practically at the edge of her seat. Of course Lois Lane was eager to know what Irene had discovered, if she had discovered anything at all. But Lois had been reporting for a very long time and undoubtedly could see right through Irene, and the fact she did learn something.

Taking a seat at the edge of her desk Irene didn't know where to start, but the thing that was at the forefront of her thoughts was the fact that she was on leave. Three weeks without any income after having spent most of her savings in the pursuit was troubling to say the least.  "So, I'm on a three weeks leave."

"Not fun, but expected." Lois replied as she offered Irene a comforting look. One that actually spoke a thousand words as it seemed that this was a position that Lois had been in before. "But tell me. Did you find him?"

Nodding Irene picked up a pen sitting on Lois' desk suddenly overcome with an anxious feeling. Talking about Clark just didn't feel right, but there were so many things she wanted to say. So many feelings she wanted to put into words, but she couldn't and Irene felt that weight in her shoulders. "I did."

"And?" The older reporter urged as she took back her pen knowing that Irene was using it as a distraction to not talk.

"And I dropped the story."

"Why are you making this so difficult? Is this the way I make people feel?" Lois muttered mostly to herself, before looking back up to meet Irene's eyes, curiosity shining brightly in hers. A curiosity that Irene could completely identify with as it was her own curiosity that eventually led her to Smallville. "Tell me about him. What's it like meeting an alien?"

Irene shook her head amazed that Lois asked the question that she couldn't seem to answer herself. After leaving the small town Irene struggled to find the words to describe Clark Kent. She knew nothing about his powers or where he was from, yet she felt like she got to know him in a different way. "Honestly, other than the fact that he's not from Earth and he has these godlike powers. He's just like us."    

At first Lois looked completely unsatisfied with Irene's answer, but then seemed to realize that there was something else that was troubling Irene that had nothing to do with the conversation she just had with their editor-in-chief. "Something is bothering you."

Irene was about to tell Lois that she felt utterly confused and frustrated but then the feeling that someone was listening in to their conversation washed over her. Instinctively Irene turned to the desk of John Corben, where he was clearly listening to their conversation. He looked away from the two women but Irene had already caught him in the act.

Not in the mood to pick a fight with Corben, she decided it was simply best to have this conversation some other time. "I... we'll talk about it later."

Normally Irene would have been just as eager as Lois to share what she had learned, to put a fascinating story out into the world. Now she returned to Metropolis empty handed and risked almost losing the job her loved, no matter how tough she had it here. For years Irene had completely dedicated herself to the Daily Planet and her writing, now that she almost lost that she realized that she had to keep her stubbornness under control.

Growing up Irene considered her ambition one of her greatest qualities, but clearly that wasn't exactly the case. Her ambition for a good story is what had almost gotten her killed, she found herself in this position because of her own mistakes. Perry wasn't to blame.

There were so many things that Irene felt uncertain of now, but one thing that she did know was that when she came back from her three week leave she would begin to be less rebellious towards Perry. She got a second chance at life and it was clear that there were some changes that needed to be made.

A/N: Another shorter chapter, but one that I really enjoyed writing as it's always fun to explore the psychology of your characters. Enjoy!